In reply to Patsy>> I'm not sure if this constitutes "in the field"--it was Scotland, about 10> years ago (1985), and it was Thanksgiving dinner.>> An American friend from Louisiana (Hal) wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner for a> large group of our British friends (c. 25 people), and as the only other> American I was delegated to the "side" dishes, while he did the turkey> and gravy.>> This was before cranberry, sweet potatos, or pumpkin were available> in the shops, and of course, he left getting the turkey until Saturday> morning, so there were only small birds left (did I mention we re-located> Thanksgiving day to Saturday, since Thursday isn't a holiday in Scotland...)>> I finally managed to find 1 rather sad butternut squash, which did for the> pumpkin pie, and a very small box of cranberries (which I tried to stretch> using extra sugar and water--with predictable results). He scoured the city> for turkeys and finally came up with two scrawny birds, about 6 pounds each.> We decided to cook them in two different ovens, at his flat, and mine (where> the party was being held), as we were running out of time.>> After numerous calls to the states for receipes (our respective moms), we got> the cooking under way. My (now) husband (who wasn't even my boyfriend then)> was delegated "driver", being the only one in possession of a car. He went> off on a shopping run with the car, and another friend from Texas who> turned up unexpectedly on Friday night. They were sent for potatos and> beer--and returned four hours later (with potatos, and some empties....).>> This left Hal and I communicating by telephone, or by messanger. "Runners"> were dispatched to carry progress reports between the two flats (about 2/3> of a mile and at least 6 pubs apart). Meanwhile, people kept arriving at my> flat, expecting to be fed. Fortunately, we had specified BYOB,and I had> some chips and dip (not exactly standard Thanksgiving fare), which kept them> going until the truants returned with the car.>> Communications broke down about 7 pm, and as my bird was done, we decided to> serve. This was in my student days, and the flat was small and> under-furnished. We put all the food on the kitchen table, which we moved> to the livingroom, and people sat anywhere they could--table, chair, floor,> hallway, beds, out in the stairwell...>> About 8:30 we got the triumphant call--the other turkey was done! The> driver was disptached to collect both the cook and the bird, which was> snatched steaming hot from the oven, with all the fat still in the pan.> What insued was a never-to-be-forgotten drive across Edinburgh's cobblestone> streets, with a scorching-hot pan of turkey fat sloshing from side to side> over both passanger and driver.>> And the gravy, you ask? In all the kaffuffel over the turkey it was> forgotten--they had to go back for it.>> It certainly wasn't Thanksgiving the way I knew it, but nobody seemed to> mind. I did Thanksgiving dinner every year after this, and it got easier as> supplies became more available, but this is the meal I remember most fondly.>> Oh, and the driver (my husband)? We started dating on Sunday night....>> Happy Christmas to all,>> Ann Morton> mrtn@troi.cc.rochester.edu>